Maxtor Solution: Storage To Share
Despite its plug-and-play design, small businesses will still turn to solution providers for installation help, Lisse said. “They will want us to hook it up, add the software and teach them how to use it,” he said. “Most small businesses know their own software, but not the IT part. If they have no IT geek on staff, they want the help.”
axtor next month plans to begin shipping an alternative to NAS appliances that installs quickly and offers solution providers opportunities to help small businesses handle a variety of storage tasks.
The Maxtor Shared Storage solution is a single hard drive with an external housing and a 10/100-Mbps Ethernet port that plugs into a home or small-business network, said Paul Streit, senior manager of branded marketing for the company.
The device provides cost-effective shared storage for users looking to improve their data backup and archiving capabilities, Streit said. List prices are $300 for a 200-Gbyte model and $400 for a 300-Gbyte version.
Maxtor will offer the Maxtor Shared Storage solution to retailers and direct marketers as well as distributors such as Bell Microproducts and Ingram Micro, giving solution providers the opportunity to work closer with their small-business clients, he said.
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For instance, a small graphics shop may be looking to set up a network with print and storage capabilities, Streit said. “VARs are called upon to add a much broader set of capabilities than customers can handle themselves,” he said.
Brian Lisse, owner of Madison Computer Works, Madison, Wis., said he can easily think of a half-dozen small-business accounts that will be interested in the Maxtor solution. He said he thinks the price might be too high for the typical home user, but it is just right for a small-business backup device.